The walk to the ruined town was one of the most awkward things Helena had been part of. Alexis and Grete were exchanging glares that were one step short of violating their oaths. Helena herself had a death spell in the back of her mind, and she'd bet everything she owned Lyudmila had an ace up her sleeve.

Fortunately they managed to get to the tree line outside the fort without any explosions, verbal or physical. Helena carefully looked out over the cleared area, noting the patrols were back to marching around the old village. "Hrm. We'll need to get one of them closer."

"Do you need me to handle this as well?" Lyudmila asked.

"It'd be best if you did the questioning part," Helena said, "but grabbing someone should be easy. Kseniya could you put up a barrier against siren song?"

Kseniya closed her eyes. "It's not something I practice regularly. But against imitation siren song I should be fine." The young witch drew a small circle in the air then scribed three runes in it. A faint hum sprung up around the working. "There. You should have seventeen feet of protection. I don't know if you'll be able to cast the spell from within the field though."

"Probably not. Fortunately I have my own protection." Helena stepped out of the circle, then pulled out a small seashell. One that she'd collected from the beach on the island of the Sirens. She appreciated her grandmother's summer trips more often these days.

She took a deep breath, then softly blew across the seashell's opening. The shell quivered and hummed as she breathed life back into its memories. A faint song, but one as sweet as honey began to sound from the shell. Helena couldn't quite make out the words, but she knew she wanted to hear more...

A bell clattered in her mind and her mind snapped back to the present. Once again she thanked the artifact that defended her. Now that her mind was clear she could grab hold of the sound, twist it and manipulate it. It wasn't as powerful as the real Sirens' chorus, but it was much more malleable.

Helena looked out over the patrols for a good target. The closest one walking into the woods would be noticed by the man behind him. But the second man wouldn't be unless the first one turned around. An easy catch.

With a breath she sent the song riding along the winds to the man.

Her target jolted as the song hit him. At first he stood there, searching for the source of the music. Then as the faint singing reached his mind, he smiled and began to walk forward, heedless of the danger of the forest.

If this had been pure siren's song the man would have dashed to the tree line, alerting everyone. But the faint song coming from the shell simply drew the man in at a pleasant walk. He even had the presence of mind to nod to his comrade before continuing on.

Helena started moving back as the man approached, carefully stepping around Ksenya's circle of protection. The man followed her movements, correcting course each step without noticing the difference.

Finally he stepped into the woods. Helena motioned to the others, but kept on concentrating on her spell. Alexis started, then drew her pistol. Grete hesitantly drew her sword, while Lyudmila produced a wand.

The man stepped into the circle then gaped in shock as the fog from his mind lifted. His shock switched to terror as he realized his situation. "Wha- What witchcraft is this?!"

"Pretty good witchcraft, if I say so myself," Helena replied with a smile. She did enjoy showing off. "Now, if you'd be so kind, we'd like to ask you a few questions."

"I-" The man hesitantly placed his hands behind his head. "Alright! I'll tell you anything. But I'm just a hired sword."

Alexis stepped forward. "Then who hired you?"

The man opened his mouth, then his eyes began to bulge. Helena caught the stench of rotting meat a second before his eyes exploded.

Helena leaped back while Alexis screamed. The man gurgled and thrashed, choking on his own blood. He clawed at his throat in manic panic. Kseniya rushed forwards to heal him, but the damage had been done. He was sure to suffocate even if his wounds were closed.

However there was something that Helena could do. She threw up her hand, mixing magic and prayer. "Mighty Hecate! I beg you, bind this spell until I see fit to release it to the darkness!"

The oily black smoke escaping from the dying man's throat was caught in chains of starlit darkness. Helena felt resistance, but it was a simple death spell, not a curse, and the creator hadn't expected anyone to bind it.

"What was that?!" Grete exclaimed. The swordswoman had taken up a guard position between the man and the kobold that had accompanied them. "Did you cast a spell to silence him?!"

Lyudmila shook her head and took a breath to steady herself. "We didn't. But someone else did. It seems the owner of this mine didn't want people asking questions." She looked over at Helena. "You want me to figure out what it was supposed to do?"

"Only if it's safe," Helena said with a grimace.

Kseniya closed the man's shattered eyelids, while Lyudmila and Helena moved to study the captured spell. Lyudmila poked at Helena's trap. "You'll need to dispel that before I can try to taste the magic."

"It'll disperse when I do," Helena said. "You'll have to be fast."

"I can do fast," Lyudmila said, stretching her palm. "And the fact that it's disintegrating will protect me from harm."

"Alright," Helena nodded. "On three then. One. Two. Three!"

Helena released the divine spell just as Lyudmila snapped her hand forward. There was a puff of smoke as her friend grasped at the spell.

Lyudmila sniffed in thought. "I see. A simple spell. One that would kill the victim if he tried to answer a question to 'the family of Pfalzgraf Holdst Von Strausfen or one in their service'."

Helena looked at the body. "So someone doesn't want the Pfalzgraf knowing what's going on here, and is willing to kill everyone to make sure they don't talk."

"How horrible!" Alexis said. "But we still don't know who did it!"

"Or at whose bequest," Grete muttered.

"I think we have a solid guess," Helena said. "What magician would care about the lord of the land but not other wizards finding out they were active here?" She turned to Lyudmila. "The magic was alchemical in nature right? And contained Byzantine and Babylonian themes?"

Lyudmila slowly nodded. "Indeed. I take it that matches the local mage?"

"Go poke around the manor and you'll notice it really fast. He doesn't bother to hide his signature craft," Helena replied with a sigh. "And here I thought he was a pleasant wizard."

Alexis seemed to shrink. "So we were betrayed. Why? Why would he turn against us like this? Is the mine worth so much to him? He could have asked!"

Kseniya stood next to the noblewoman and patted her shoulder. Lyudmila shook her head. "I suppose you'll get to ask him soon. Though there's a bit of a problem."

"The fact that you'll be facing a wizard in his own domain? Along with the local lord's men?" Grete replied with a sardonic smirk. "A small problem isn't it? Otherwise I'd have handled it myself."

Lyudmila looked at the woman with a frown. "That and the fact that this wonderfully easy trail of evidence has probably been set up by your curse. Probably so we can get into a fight near Pfalzgraf von Stausfen and get him killed in the crossfire."

"What!?" Alexis wheeled on the magician. "You mean this is all falsehood?!"

"No," Lyudmila shook her head. "Why lie when the truth is more damaging? But think on what's happened. You've been traipsing all around this land. How many close calls have you had? How many people have been in mortal danger around you? Well ignoring those that Helena went after. Do you think the curse just left?" Lyudmila looked over at Grete again. "Tell me, has your hatred gone away?"

The swordswoman hesitated then shook her head. "No."

Lyudmila looked at Helena. "You're the best here with curses. What do you think a subtle deadly curse would be doing here? I'm surprised you didn't see this earlier."

Helena swore at her own stupidity. Lyudmila was right. She'd just assumed the people who'd gotten hurt around her were part of the curse, and perhaps they were, but compared to the vicious and random attacks when it was in the Immigrant Realms this was nothing.

She turned away and closed her eyes. She'd been foolish. All this time spent chasing after clues one after the other, without spending any time to think about the big picture. That was a huge mistake.

Helena began to pace. She had to look at the facts again. The Pfalzgraf couldn't be targeted by magic. So Grete had called down a curse on his eldest son. But because of Nedvarious' spellcraft it had instead targeted Alexis.

On the other side, the same magician had slaughtered an entire village for a magical reagent. Admittedly it was a very expensive magical reagent. And he had made sure that the men working the mine wouldn't give away that secret to his nominal master.

There was one big question there. Why go through all that trouble? When a simple word would give him access to everything for free?

Helena froze. No. There were two big questions. Two things that made no sense.

She slowly turned to Alexis. "Alexis. You said your father was grievously injured five years ago. When was Selzen destroyed?"

"Four years ago," Grete said glaring at her.

"You don't think they are connected?" Alexis asked.

Helena bit her lip. "I'm... uncertain. I want to test something first."

"So where are we going now?" Alexis asked.

"We're going back to the cottage. I'll need it to be dark for this." She looked away from the rest of them. "And I should do it by myself. The spell is best done alone."

Lyudmila looked at her. "What is it Helena?"

"Just a thought. A possibility. I want to confirm it before I say it," Helena replied.

She shook her head then threw two pennies on the dead mercenary for the ferryman. "We should head back for now. We have some plans to make. Attacking a wizard in his domain will be difficult. Especially since we don't want any accidents to happen."

The night was cold, with a stiff wind that shook the pine branches. But the chill in Helena's heart was deeper. She was afraid no matter what she found out here she wouldn't like the answer.

But she was a witch. She had to know.

The crescent moon had risen above the tree line and was shining on the deserted crossroads Helena had picked for her spell. It was time to act.

She reached into her pouch, following the distant call of her home, and after several minutes pulled out a single white chrysanthemum blossom. In this realm, the flower would resonate well with the spell she was going to cast. She then pulled out her knife and sketched several symbols into the dirt of the crossroads. A prayer to Hades and Persephone to borrow one of their servants for a while. A prayer of thankfulness for her power to Hecate. And symbols of summoning and control.

When those were done she stepped back, pricked her finger with the knife and let the blood fall onto the pure white flower. She looked to the moon and said, "You who knows only grief in death, attend me, so that we may each perhaps find some peace."

The wind threatened to knock the bloom from her hand for a second, then fell dead still. Silence reigned for a long moment.

A faint sniffle sliced through the quiet. Then like water rushing over a dam, a wail rang out through the crossroads. Helena forced herself to stand strong as a wispy figure appeared, wearing ruined chain and carrying a shattered spear. His eyes were ringed and sullen beneath the chain coif, and tears rained down his face to drip onto the ground. He opened his mouth and his words flowed through the air like a wave of frost. "Who calls this wretched one? Do you seek to revel in my misfortune? Or do you come to grieve alongside me, for the fate you know you cannot change?"

Helena steadied herself then looked the man in the eyes. "I Helena Aoede have summoned you. I seek to break the dark fate you foretold."

The man buried his face in his hands. "How can you stop the tragedy? You are its author! Though others have rotted the tree, you will be the one to make it fall."

"Then when did the tragedy start?" Helena asked.

The ghost wiped his eyes. "When the flowers of the west were cut, the servant replaced the master. From that tragedy comes all others."

Helena felt her throat tighten. "I see. Thank you. You may leave or stay as you wish."

"I wish to change things, but that is impossible for a failure like me," the ghost sighed. The wind seemed to echo his mournful gasp.

And then the spirit was gone.

Helena stood there for a long time, piecing together the clues in her mind, then she pulled out five coins with shaking hands and tossed them onto the ground.

Staring down at the bleak fortune before her, she shook her head. "I should have known. Fortune telling never helps. Never."

Helena gathered the coins, then flew back towards the cottage she'd claimed as her own.

She'd had some time to collect herself before she landed at home. Which was probably the only reason why she managed to notice the faint magical presence standing outside. She turned to the invisible spirit. "Hello Shizuka. I didn't expect you to come."

The air seemed to blur, then a white haired woman in a pale kimono appeared. Her hair was short, like a child's, but she stood about as tall as Helena. "I'm Kseniya's familiar. I'll always follow her." The spirit frowned. "And I can tell she needs me here. I feel ill fortune in this house. And not just the curse."

"Yeah." Helena closed her eyes. "I think it'll be fine in the end though," she lied.

Shizuka gave her a close look, then sighed. "Well, I'll be here anyway." She blurred a bit, then returned to sight with a frown. "How did you sense me?"

"This is my domain," Helena pointed out. "And you're not a normal zashiki warashi anymore. For one thing you're too old."

The spirit nodded solemnly. "I suppose that's true. Spirits like us can't bind ourselves to a mage without changing." A shy smile flitted across her face. "But I'm fine with that."

Helena blinked and the spirit was gone. Back to invisibility. "Well, you still have all the other traits," Helena replied quietly. At least something was still working right in the universe.

She walked into the house only to be met with four pairs of eyes and a floating fireball. "You all didn't need to stay up for me," she said.

"Ha," Lyudmila snapped. "After you were being all cryptic and zoning out during the strategy meeting? All of us are curious. What could possibly make Helena not interested in blowing things up?"

Helena glared at her friend, then sighed before turning to where Alexis was sitting on the other side of the room. "I think I might know what's going on. It's... possible that your father has been supplanted by a simulacrum."

"What?" Alexis' eyes grew wide. "Like a doppelganger? But he seems the same as always!"

"One would think someone might notice," Grete said coldly.

Helena sighed and took a seat. "It's only a possibility. But it fits what I've learned so far. Simulacrums can act exactly like the person they are based on, so long as the original is still alive. On the other hand doing so would require blood freely given, and a constant supply of expensive magical reagents." Helena rubbed her eyes. "Someone acting as a healer to a man injured in battle would easily be able to get blood, and as for expensive magical reagents..."

"God in heaven!" Grete's mouth fell open. "But... that's..." The swordswoman fell into deep thought.

The kobold flame swirled in agitation. "To abuse our silver. Great anger."

"Is there a way to banish such a creature?" Alexis asked. "If we can dispel that monstrosity and free my father the guards will rally to our cause!"

"Maybe," Helena said. "It depends on if Nedvarious blocks our spells. If he does though we'll know my guess is correct and we can fight in the castle without worrying about hurting your father."

"And if you're wrong?" Lyudmila asked softly.

Helena sighed and closed her eyes again. "Then we retreat outside like you planned and fight in the courtyard. We can't let Nedvarious build up his defenses more than he already has. An alchemist on their home ground is dangerous enough."

Silence fell again as everyone become lost in their own thoughts.

Finally the kobold moved towards the door. "I must summon kin. We meet you there." The blue light flickered out.

Kseniya sighed and stood. "We should get some rest. Especially you humans."

Grete gave the young witch a sharp look at that, but Alexis nodded. "Very well." The noblewoman stood and followed the youngest witch to the guest room.

After a pause Grete stood as well. "I think it best for everyone if I sleep outside. I've done so before."

"There's an empty woodshed if you don't want to freeze," Helena said. The swordswoman left without a reply, letting the door slam behind her.

Lyudmila stood and moved to Helena's side, laying her hand on top of Helena's. "It's not like you to only tell us half the story," she said quietly.

Helena closed her eyes again and leaned back in her chair. "I don't want to be right."

Her friend sighed and squeezed her hand. "Well, I always enjoy needling you when you're wrong so let's hope for the best."

Helena managed a smile. "Yeah."

They sat together as the trees rustled outside, awaiting the morrow.